Focaccia with Onion, Rosemary and Chilli flakes

 

I have made made this focaccia and I have had a lot of people asking me for the recipe. This recipe is taken from SBS Food, and I absolutely love making it. Mixing the dough is easy, the hard part is waiting around for it to prove.

To serve, you can slice the focaccia in half and fill in with your favourite sandwich fillings. I enjoy eating with sardines or sliced roast beef and cheese. You can simple dip it in some olive oil, or if I am having it a few days after I’ve made it, I toast it and eat it with some salad.

You can find the video of making it on my Instagram story Highlights here.

Ingredients:

• 500 g strong (bread) flour
• 2 tsp fine salt
• 14 g dried active yeast
• 30 ml olive oil, plus extra for kneading and drizzling
• 400 ml water
• 2 tsp salt flakes
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 1 tbsp rosemary leaves

Method:

• Combine the flour, salt and yeast in a bowl. Combine the olive oil and water in a small jug and slowly drizzle the oil mixture into the flour, mixing with your hands to create a sticky and shaggy dough. Knead the dough by stretching and folding it on itself. Don’t worry if the dough is super sticky at this stage.
• In a 30cm x 20cm rectangular pan, drizzle olive oil generously. Place the dough in the pan, and then knead the dough for about 5 minutes, in the oil. Cover the tray with a tea towel and leave it to prove in a warm place for about 30 minutes.
• After proving, fold the dough on itself again. You can add a bit more olive oil in the pan if desired, and fold in the dough, absorbing all the oil. Leave the dough again to prove, for about 30 minutes to up to an hour, until it has doubled in size.
• Turn the dough over in the tray to cover it in oil. Press the dough down in the pan to fill it in. Make small dents in the dough with your fingers and drizzle with olive oil. Then gently press the onion into the dough and top with chilli flakes, rosemary leaves and salt flakes. Cover and rest again, for further 30 -45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Bake the focaccia for about 20 minutes, until golden brown, and is hollow when tapped.
• Serve warm. It will store in an air-tight container for about 5 days (toast it if it lasts this long) but best eaten within 2 days.